Here are some Pinellas school district highlights for the 2009-2010 school year:

New schools

Clearwater Fundamental: A new middle school resulting from the merger of Coachman Fundamental and Kennedy Middle. The school will be on the old site of Kennedy Middle, 1660 Palmetto St., Clearwater.

Madeira Beach Fundamental: The district's first K-8 school created by the merger of Southside Fundamental Middle, Madeira Beach Middle and Madeira Beach Elementary. The new school will be on the old Madeira Beach Elementary and Middle school sites, 591 Tom Stuart Causeway, Madeira Beach.

Gifted middle schools

The Middle School Centers for Gifted Studies are available to incoming sixth-grade gifted students at Dunedin Highland, Morgan Fitzgerald in Largo and Thurgood Marshall Fundamental in St. Petersburg. This new program will provide a challenging and rigorous curriculum aligned with the National Association for Gifted Children curriculum standards and the Florida Frameworks for K-12 Gifted Learners. The program will expand to seventh and eighth grade over the next two years.

New magnet program

First Responders: National Guard Center for Emergency Management

This fall, Pinellas Park High School will launch a four-year program to prepare students for jobs as initial responders to emergency and disaster situations. First responders may plan for, assess, and/or manage natural disasters, terrorist acts, hazardous materials incidents, civil disturbances, air-land-sea rescues and other emergency situations. Among other things, instruction will focus on community planning, emergency preparedness and response, emergency health care, health safety and environmental issues, and concepts of command.